Teams in the Indian Premier League are gearing up to tackle Harbhajan Singh the bowler but the feisty off-spinner today said he was all set to stun his rivals with some "explosive" batting in the Twenty20 event starting April 18 in South Africa.
Teams in the Indian Premier League are gearing up to tackle Harbhajan Singh the bowler but the feisty off-spinner today said he was all set to stun his rivals with some "explosive" batting in the Twenty20 event starting April 18 in South Africa.
"Every player becomes explosive in Twenty20 and I am no less. Watch out for my explosive batting," Harbhajan said when asked who were the most intimidating batsmen on the IPL roster according to him.
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On whether he would be targeting any particular batsman during the high-profile event, the 28-year-old said instead of going after just one, he would focus on destroying the entire line-ups to ensure victory for his team Mumbai Indians.
"Mere nishane par sari team hoti hai (I target the entire team). I don't target individuals. You play to win the match and that can be done only by targeting the entire team.
"So there is no point targeting a particular batsman," said the Punjab player, who was here to ink a deal with License India for licensing his brand name.
The affable bowler also had his unique take on the Kolkata Knight Riders' multiple-captaincy theory, which has ignited a heated debate among current and former players.
"To be honest, KKR is not my team. I am not bothered whether they have four captains or 11 captains. I don't know how they will do with such a system but I wish them all the luck," Harbhajan said.
IPL went to South Africa this year due to a clash of dates with general elections in India and Harbhajan said one of the biggest drawbacks of the shift was the absence of frenzied home fans to electrify the atmosphere.
"Fans would be definitely missed but then we can't help it," he said. Asked if he would also miss an injured S Sreesanth with whom he was involved in an ugly slapping row last season, an irritated Harbhajan said: "What do I have to do if Sreesanth is not there. I am going there to play cricket not for anything else."
Awarded the Padma Shri this year, Harbhajan could not attend the award-giving ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan yesterday which led to some criticism.
But the bowler brushed it aside, saying he had family commitments to take care of. "There were a few family commitments, some serious things... that is why I could not go. We had a long tour of New Zealand and got just a few days with our families. People who are criticising me should understand that family issues cannot be ignored," he said.
On whether he also fancied himself at the world-famous Madame Tussauds wax museum where Sachin Tendulkar's figure was recently inducted, Harbhajan laughed off the suggestion.
"It's a big thing that his wax figure has been inducted. Actually it should have been done much earlier. But better late than never)," he signed off.
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